Quintero brothers facts for kids
Serafín Álvarez Quintero (born March 26, 1871 – died April 12, 1938) and Joaquín Álvarez Quintero (born January 20, 1873 – died June 14, 1944) were famous Spanish writers. They were brothers who wrote many plays together. They are best known for their comedies.
Their Lives and Early Works
Serafín and Joaquín were born in Utrera, a town in Seville Province, Spain. Serafín was born in 1871 and Joaquín in 1873.
They later moved to Seville. There, they worked for the government's treasury department. At the same time, they started writing for different publications. Slowly, they began to focus more on writing plays for the theater.
Their first play was called Esgrima y amor. It was performed in 1888 at the Cervantes Theater in Seville. The next year, in 1889, they wrote their first play for the stage, called Gilito.
They wrote many other plays over the years. Some of their early works include Blancas y negras (1892) and La media naranja (1894). They also wrote La buena sombra (1895) and La reja (1897).
Both brothers became members of the Royal Spanish Academy. This is a very important group that looks after the Spanish language.
Big Successes and Later Years
The brothers had their first big success in 1897 with a play called El ojito right. After this, many more successful plays followed. These included Las flores (1901) and El genio alegría (1906).
Other popular plays were Malvaloca (1912) and Puebla de las mujeres (1912). They also wrote Las de Caín (1908) and Mariquilla Terremoto (1930).
People in their hometowns of Utrera and Seville loved them. Their plays were translated into many languages. They were even performed in faraway places where Spanish is spoken. For example, their plays were shown at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Because of their success, the brothers received many honors. Their plays were very well-known throughout the 1920s.
The brothers were also known for trying to write down how people spoke in the Andalusian dialects. These are different ways of speaking Spanish in the Andalusia region.
At the start of the Spanish Civil War, both brothers were held in El Escorial. Serafín passed away in 1938 due to natural causes. Joaquín died later in 1944. Both brothers are buried in the San Justo Cemetery in Madrid.
Their Creative Work
The Quintero brothers wrote almost 200 plays in total. They were most famous for their comedies. However, they also wrote other types of plays. These included short, funny plays called skits, like Mañana de sol (1905).
They also wrote zarzuela operas, which are Spanish musical plays. An example is La Reina Mora (1903). They even wrote serious plays called dramas, such as Malvaloca (1912) and Cancionera (1924).
Many of their plays showed what daily life was like in their home region of Andalusia. This style is called costumbrismo. They showed a happy and friendly view of Andalusia. They did not focus on sad or difficult parts of society.
Their plays often showed the joy of living. This happy style helped their plays be loved by many people. Even famous critics like Ramón Pérez de Ayala and José Martínez Ruiz enjoyed their work.
In the 1930s, their stories were even used for movies. They wrote several scripts for films starring the famous actress Estrellita Castro.
The complete collection of their works was published in Madrid. It came out between 1918 and 1947 in 42 different books.
See also
In Spanish: Hermanos Álvarez Quintero para niños
